From a 21st-century perspective, BMW 325 Series is about as slam-dunk-wonderful a car as there is available. In the mid 1970s, BMW faced the task of replacing its aging 2002 coupe. BMW picked a ripe moment in history to introduce the first 3 Series generation, internally designated E21. In 1974, BMW sold 184,330 cars, but bolstered by the European introduction of the 3 Series in 1975, worldwide sales reached 221,298.
The 3 Series hit North America as a 1977 model, and that pushed BMW production over 290,000 that year and beyond 320,000 in 1978.
The only E21 model available Stateside was the 320i. Basic elements like the MacPherson strut front and trailing arm rear suspension and front disc/rear drum power braking system differed in detail and specification, but were similar in overall design. The standard transmission remained a Getrag four-speed manual, while a ZF three-speed automatic was optional.
In 1980, the engine shrank to 1.8 liters (though the name remained 320i) and BMW 325 added a three-way catalytic converter to the emissions control system. Designated E30, the second-generation 3 Series was initially available only in two-door form.
While hardly sporting in character, its 121 hp was the most BMW 325 had offered to U.S. buyers since the long-ago 2002tii, and the car was decently quick, making it to 60 mph in 8.9 seconds and completing the quarter-mile in 16.6 seconds at 81.5 mph for Road & Track. The E30 really came of age in the 1987 model year with the appearance of the 325i and 325is models, which abandoned the "eta" reduced-rev/high-fuel-mileage engine concept, as well as the introduction of the 325iC convertible, the first pure convertible offered in the 3 Series. Car and Driver's 325is blasted to 60 mph in just 7.4 seconds and completed the quarter-mile in 15.6 seconds at 88 mph. So gratifying and ingratiating was the new 325i engine that most reviewers felt the car was worth its soaring price tag. Dropped into a modified 3 Series two-door body shell (the flared fenders, more steeply raked rear window and higher trunk lid meant only the hood was left untouched compared with more plebian 3 Series coupes), the Bosch fuel-injected "M Power" four was rated at 192 hp at a wailing 6,750 rpm when it finally got to North America.
Stirring the five-speed manual transmission, Car and Driver blasted that 2,857-pound M3 to 60 mph in just 6.9 seconds, blitzed the quarter-mile in just 15.2 seconds with a 92-mph trap speed and screamed to a 141-mph top speed. With an as-tested price of $34,810, the M3 was at that time (and remains for many purists) the ultimate BMW 3 Series.
Thanks to the E30, the two-door heritage of the 2002 and 320i had been transcended, and the 3 Series was now a full line of compact coupes, sedans and convertibles with serious sporting pretensions. At 106.3 inches, its wheelbase stretched 5.1 inches longer than the E30's, and the car was slightly more than 4 inches longer overall. While the E36's front suspension retained its traditional MacPherson strut design, engineers made the rear suspension more sophisticated than ever before. By the 1993 model year, the M50 engine would gain BMW's VANOS variable valve timing system, and consequently a sweeter, fatter torque curve.
The four-cylinder engine in the 318i also used a four-valve cylinder head to make 138 hp. But U.S. BMW 325 buyers were increasingly opting for six-cylinder engines in their cars, and throughout the E36's production cycle, fewer and fewer fours were sold.
Unlike previous 3 Series two-doors, the E36 version wasn't an upright sedan with two fewer doors, but an altogether rakish coupe. Never fully accepted by many BMW enthusiasts, the 318ti would attract relatively few U.S. buyers before leaving production after the 1999 model year.
In 1998, a 168-hp 2.5-liter version of the inline-6 was offered in the coupe and convertible to create, counter-intuitively, the 323i convertible and 323is coupe. The M3 Evolution appeared as a 1996 model, and nominal engine displacement grew from 3.0 liters to 3.2.
Many wondered how BMW 325 could possibly improve upon this iconic car.
1999-2005
The headlights now featured "cut outs" below the lenses, which emphasized the traditional BMW 325 quad headlight design.
The E46 328i's 2.8-liter mill made 193 hp at 5,500 rpm and 206 lb-ft of torque at just 3,500 rpm, while the 2.5-liter produced 170 hp and 181 lb-ft of torque in the still confusingly named 323i.